David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct and grooming teenage girls
David Walliams has been accused of sexual misconduct and abusing his power to groom teenagers as young as 15.
One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a “sexual assault” while multiple women accused him of “grooming” them when they were teenagers.
The best-selling author and former Britain’s Got Talent judge, 55, was named as part of an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday, after he tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of allegations against him.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
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Walliams → accuse → wrongdoing
In a letter understood to have been sent several months ago by Walliams to journalists working on the ITV News and Guardian investigations, the television personality wrote: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.
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I → understand → relationships
“I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account.
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I → realise → account
That is something I regret.
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I → regret → ?
“And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did.”
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I → abuse → that
He added: “I am not a sexual predator.
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I → add → ?
I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
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I → break → me
Walliams has yet to respond following the publication of his name on Tuesday.
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Walliams → have → Tuesday
Several sources alleged inappropriate behaviour towards women at the prime-time show Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), where Walliams served as a judge from 2012 to 2022, and his publisher HarperCollins, which dropped him last year.
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which → allege → him
Walliams had his Labour Party membership suspended and Downing Street described the allegations as “deeply troubling”.
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Street → have → allegations
One woman, named by ITV News and the Guardian as Jade, said she was 15 and Walliams was 36 when they met in August 2007 and he invited her to his house.
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he → name → house
She claimed what happened to her there was “sexual assault” and “grooming”, adding: “It’s completely wrong in every way.”
Walliams strongly denied to the publications that he had any sexual contact with Jade, adding that he rejects any allegations of criminal activity and he has never engaged in the grooming of young women.
Asked how she feels about him now, she said: “I think I was groomed.
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I → claim → him
Walliams told the publications he believed she was 18 at the time they had sex.
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they → tell → sex
His lawyers said the suggestion he groomed Alex is false and has caused him significant distress.
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he → say → distress
Another young woman, Lilly Creightmore, said she met Walliams when she was 18 at a live filming of Little Britain.
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she → say → Britain
She said she had a troubled home life so stayed with him in his flat, where she slept on the sofa.
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she → say → sofa
She claimed he asked her to stay in his bed every night.
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he → claim → bed
She told the news organisations: “He would plead with me to share a bed with him and paw at me, trying to make me feel sorry for him.
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me → tell → him
“He definitely crossed the line physically in moments, when I was young, trying to coerce me into sleeping with him.”
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I → cross → him
Lawyers for Walliams said he saw her as a close friend and is mortified that she feels he was grooming her, which he denies.
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he → say → which
He also denies targeting her because she was young and vulnerable and insists he did not say or do anything inappropriate.
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he → deny → anything
A model, named as Ella, was 19 when she met Walliams, then 36, in 2007, and attended a party at his house.
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she → name → house
She alleges he tried to kiss her when they were alone and she “ducked underneath his arm and ran away”.
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she → allege → arm
Ella said she felt “vulnerable” and “intimidated” and described the encounter as “unwanted physical touching and emotional manipulation”.
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she → say → touching
She said she felt like she “dodged a bullet”.
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she → say → bullet
Walliams said he made a “clumsy pass” at Ella but made no further approaches.
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he → say → approaches
At the end of the series Mark received £300 from Walliams with a signed card.
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Mark → receive → card
Mark claimed a senior member of the production staff called it “hush money”.
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member → claim → it
Walliams denies he was “buying” Mark’s silence and there was nothing that needed “covering up”.
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that → deny → silence
The star says he tipped staff every year and the amount he gave Mark was no higher than normal.
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he → say → Mark
He describes the employee’s comments as a “smear”.
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He → describe → smear
A spokesperson for Fremantle UK, which makes BGT, said: “We are disturbed and concerned at these serious allegations.
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We → make → allegations
“During his time on the show and in the intervening period, no complaint was ever made regarding his behaviour to Fremantle UK.
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complaint → intervene → UK
“If anyone feels they have been the subject of any impropriety or wrongdoing by anyone on any Fremantle or associated labels’ productions, we encourage them to come forward.
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we → feel → them
“We will treat any complaints seriously.
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We → treat → complaints
Protecting the welfare of our employees, freelancers, contributors and fans has always been and absolutely remains paramount for the company.”
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Protecting → protect → company
A former staff member at HarperCollins said normal working practices had to be changed around Walliams and young women were not sent on their own to his home.
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women → say → home
It is alleged he had a sexual relationship with at least one junior employee and pursued another.
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he → allege → another
Walliams has sold more than 60 million copies of his children’s books globally.
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Walliams → sell → books
They include The Boy In The Dress, Fing and Gangsta Granny, the latter of which was turned into a one-hour BBC special in 2013, followed by a sequel starring Sheridan Smith in 2022.
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latter → include → 2022
…and 4 more, not listed.
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